Teaching at Hogwarts
by J.L.Lunar
Summary: When Harry's life is falling apart, he manages to pick up the pieces as a Professor at Hogwarts. Of course, when someone from his past gets the same idea, memories are bound to be brought up, and feelings brought to boil. HarryxDraco fic


**A/N: I would like to warn, this is a sloooooow build fic. If you're not into that, I would not suggest reading this.**

**The main pairing is Drarry, but there will be sideplots - though no side romances are decided yet.**

**It is.. Marginally canon? With some slight changes.**

Harry Potter had certainly changed a lot since his own days back in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and it made sense that the school itself had as well. Professors after the war had been few and far in between, with Headmistress McGonagall promptly taking the head. She had quickly set about hiring new teachers, stating that 'Albus would never have stopped education just because of a war.'

Harry supposed that was true.

Neville had been first. He signed up as an assistant professor, learning voraciously from Professor Sprout. Susan Bones had come back as well, a few years later, to become the in-school nurse when Madam Pomfrey's health began to fade. Even Luna Lovegood joined on the Hogwarts staff, teaching Transfiguration in McGonagall's place.

Several other professors came and went for the other studies, Professor Binns the constant in their mess. Harry often smiled at his drowsy memories in that particular class, Hermione's voice hissing and grating upon his and Ron's nerves. Goblin politics and history never even mattered anymore, once he graduated, and he took every moment he could to point this out to Hermione.

Though, the young witch held her head high at his criticism, and would pointedly tap her fingers along a page of whatever book was clamped in between her fingers. She would calmly point out that she was a lawyer for all magical creatures, still advocating liberation among anything non-human. Harry had attended one of her trials, and had to admit not only was she convincing with all of her facts, but she was also fearless, and ruthless. No magical creature would be unjustly harmed with her around.

Ron, on the flipside, had gone on to Auror training, often cracking jokes that he needed the special training to keep Hermione in check. That often awarded him a smack to the back of the head, and a nice dose of curse words.

Harry had almost joined up with Ron, almost. When he and Ginny married, he believed it would be perfect! The young witch was his darling, teenage sweetheart. Yet one day, it had all crumbled. It was no one's fault, really, and he and Ginny were still entirely civil. He still attended her games—since she played professionally with the Holyhead Harpies, and they appeared together at the Weaselys' for holidays.

It was actually after their recent divorce, with Harry staring dismally at all his Auror paper work, that he received a call from Neville. What his old friend told him was intriguing news, piquing Harry's interest and actually drawing him away from his boring Auror work.

A new position was open, that the Headmistress was struggling to fill.

Defense Against the Dark Arts.

-(-o-)-

Bored, Harry tapped his wand against the heel of his shoe, mind wandering aimlessly. He'd been at Hogwarts for a few years now, and he loved it, much more than Auror work. In retrospect, he supposed he should have known teaching was his goal in life, especially after all the D.A. meetings. At the time, though, he'd thought nothing of it, constantly saying it was only because of Hermione that those meetings even took place.

Now, he knew better. He loved watching the students' faces as they lit up, eagerly soaking in information. He tried his hardest to appeal to every kid. Some days, he would lecture, and he noticed students that reminded him of Hermione would immediately perk up, quills scratching away eagerly on parchment.

Whereas students like he and Ron loved the days where they were faced with hands on challenges, such as cursing Bogarts (thanks to Lupin's years teaching) and practical obstacle courses. More social students also excelled when asked to form groups, hexing one another and thinking fast. Some days he would merely ask the class to read a chapter or two, always mindful of the work load for those he knew couldn't possibly do a ridiculous amount of reading outside of class.

All his years as a student fully prepared him. He remembered watching his fellow peers stress, screaming, crying, and trying as many potions as possible, all to end in a failed grade anyways. Harry was determined to be a hard, yet fair professor, teaching the children things that actually mattered.

And he found it fine and dandy that, after his first year, no students bothered asking about who he was, or what he had done in the war. The Boy Who Lived was slowly fading, replaced by Professor Potter, the Man Who Taught.

Harry was perfectly fine with that.

So now he sat at this mandatory meeting, staring at the other professors all lined up around the table. Zacharias Smith, slightly less obnoxious from their youthful days, was talking nasally to the Arithmancy professor. She was young, and was obviously more used to burying her face in books and numbers then she was participating with people. From what Harry had heard, she was a mousy teacher, but would immediately drop you from the course should you talk or distract the other students. Smith was just an idiot, prattling on about his Charms lessons, not noticing the uninterested look in her eyes.

Neville was talking animatedly with Luna, both giggling over some plant that Neville had growing in the collar of his shirt. Harry swore he saw the thing move on its own, but if he stared for too long, Neville gave him a pointed look, and green eyes quickly glanced elsewhere.

Susan was sitting calmly across from Harry. While not technically a professor, she did take on young witches and wizards for an extracurricular course over healing spells. There were no grades, or any motives for the young children to continuously appear, other than experience and knowledge. McGonagall had promptly told her that—even if she was the school nurse—she was still to be treated as a professor.

McGonagall herself hadn't arrived yet, which was why Harry was so idle. They had been called here today because, with finals coming up, they were hard pressed. Their old Potions teacher—some old crone by the name of Morticia Claw—had recently passed of old age. McGonagall had been frantic, digging through applications and calling any and every applicant. Until then, the professors had each taken free days to go down and attempt to teach the class.

Harry and Neville were awful, however, presenting no challenge whatsoever to the fifth years and higher. After all, the only things Harry really knew well about potions were things he'd read in Snape's old book. He was rather dismal. And while Neville had certainly improved, he often bored the class, constantly asking them to make different water solutions and fertilizer potions for whatever new plant he had in.

This meeting was to introduce the new professor. The Headmistress refused to tell them the name of the new professor, and instead had decided to introduce him or her at the faculty meeting. She set it up on a Friday afternoon, with all the students busy with homework and their social lives, allowing the new teacher a whole weekend to settle in.

Harry sighed, slumping forward on the desk, watching the clock hands tick steadily.

Finally, there was a noise from the hallway.

All conversations ground to a halt, the Arithmancy teacher looking rather grateful. Everyone's eyes watched as the door clicked open, the Headmistress bustling in. She had become stooped in her old age, her face withered and lined. Her hands were veiny and arthritic, her skin dull and waxy. Yet her eyes still held their old strength, still causing students to tremble in fear if sent to her office. She still wore here fit, brocaded gowns, long sleeves trailing over her tiny hands. Her black hair still jerked back tightly into a ball beneath her hat, and spectacles still in place.

"Professors," she greeted, her accent still as thick as ever, with only a slight waver to suggest her age. "I have brought our newest faculty member. Please, everyone, welcome Mr. Malfoy." Fully entering the room, she either didn't see, or chose to ignore, every jaw dropping to the floor. She seated herself at the head of the table, watching calmly as a man entered behind her.

A man Harry had not seen in years.

Draco Malfoy stood tall and prim in the doorway, his elegance still wrapped tight around him like a cloak. His blond hair was as long as Lucius' had been, falling neatly down to his shoulders. The pointed face was still the same as Harry remembered, though the sneer and haughty look were gone. Now, he merely looked blank—like a wax doll.

He wore a plain black suit with a cloak draped over his shoulders, tailored to fit him snugly. It was reminiscent of what he'd always worn, just a little more mature now. Harry noted, absently, the golden wedding band circled around Draco's finger. He'd heard that the Malfoy had married, he just never heard who to.

The blond looked uncomfortable for just a moment, at all the incredulous stares locking upon him, but he seemed to brush them off shortly afterwards.

"Hello." His voice was soft, quiet, lacking the imperialistic quality that Harry had once known. While still obviously a proud, flourishing Malfoy, he had learned when to display it. And, with unwelcome glances all around him, he probably chose now to at least pretend to be humble.

"He will be our new Potions master," McGonagall stated, then waved a hand over the table. Immediately, a chair materialized, which she motioned for Malfoy to sit in. The wizard complied, brushing his hair from his face as he turned his solemn features towards the Headmistress.

"Thank you for welcoming me," was all he said, despite the fact that everyone was doing quite the opposite. Smith's face had gone a blotchy red, whereas Neville seemed to be battling between childhood fear, and the fact that he was a grown man now. The Arithmancy professor seemed enraptured, though not in an entirely pleasant way. She was watching Malfoy like he was a dead animal, horrifying, but unable to look away.

Luna stared at nothing in particular, mind wandering as usual.

Harry felt his hand itch, ready to write a letter to Ron and Hermione, hoping they would share his disbelief with him. Ron would, he knew, but he imagined Hermione, sitting there holding baby Rose, lecturing him about giving Malfoy a chance and about how people change.

Harry didn't want that. He wanted disbelief, shock, and awe.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall snapped him out of his reverie, and he jumped, staring into disapproving eyes. One sharp, black eyebrow rose steadily, clearly in disapproval. "Now that your mind is back on task," his face was burning and he quietly ignored Smith's snort of derision, "I would like you all to be helpful to Mr. Malfoy during his time with us at Hogwarts. Please extend a helpful hand, and treat him like the family we all are here." With that, she stood, gathering her skirts about her. "Dismissed."

Malfoy was immediately on his feet, clearly wanting to get to the door as soon as possible. He missed his chance when McGonagall swept out before he did, leaving all the teachers circled around him. His chin jutted up high, and he met all their gazes.

Harry had to resist the urge to laugh. He'd never realized how short Malfoy was. Or maybe it was just that everyone else grew.

"Why are you here?" Zacharias demanded, nappy blond hair pushed away from his eyes as he examined Malfoy. Harry found him ridiculous and pompous. Honestly, he acted like they were all still students here, rather than professors.

Malfoy met the acidic retort with a calm countenance. "I'm here to teach Potions." Harry recognized the slow, cold drawl, which Malfoy had apparently modeled after Snape.

Smith sneered. "Obviously. But at Hogwarts? Wouldn't you be more welcome at Durmstrang?"

"I don't find that particularly convenient, with me living in London and all," came the short tempered response, and Harry could see the façade Malfoy had built was already on its way to crumbling. He may have modeled himself after Snape, but he couldn't maintain it the way that old Potions master had.

"I'm sure with the Malfoy fortune you could afford to move," Smith continued, flicking his hand in the air. Harry grimaced, watching Malfoy's carefully composed face twitch at the mention of his family's fortune.

"I'm sure my son wouldn't appreciate that," came the reply. Harry blinked in surprise. Malfoy's child? How odd, to think the little prat of a boy he'd known had a child!

"I'm sure no son would appreciate you very much," Smith levied, seeming to gain confidence, though from what Harry couldn't tell. Malfoy's face was darkening, becoming even more murderous at each syllable that left Zacharias' mouth.

"Look, Smith, lay off." Harry said it suddenly, positioning himself almost in front of Malfoy. Zacharias sneered at him, but turned his back on the pair. He tried engaging the Arithmancy professor once more, but now that the altercation was done, she quickly left the classroom.

Harry watched the trickle of faculty members leave the room, till only he and Malfoy were left. Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry turned to greet Malfoy, but was met with a red, indignant face.

"How dare you!" Malfoy hissed, leaving Harry floored and confused. "I—You—Pretentious little hero!"

"Excuse me?" Harry demanded, quite literally taking a step back.

Malfoy balled his hands into fists. "I would have thought after all these years you would have managed to contain your self-righteous attitude. Did you not stop to think that you just made me appear weak?" Harry blinked in confusion.

The color drained from Malfoy's face, and the blond paused. Hands smoothed back his bleach white hair, composing himself once more. The cold, nasally drawl was back.

"Of course not. You're an idiot—always have been, always will be. I should have expected it really." Harry tried to ignore the insult.

"I thought I was helping," he said, preferring this to whatever else was going to leave his mouth.

"That's just the problem," Malfoy retorted, arms crossing over his chest. "That's what you always think you're doing, and then it turns out you're hideously wrong. Imagine that." Harry let out a noise of indignation, which Malfoy promptly waved away. "Zacharias was playing a game, testing me to see if I would still stand up to him. He must have heard about my recent transgressions—that barb about my son, really!"

Malfoy seemed lost in his own thought, while Harry just remained lost in general.

"Um. Transgression?" Harry asked, even raising his hand meekly. Malfoy rewarded him with what Harry could only name as an 'eat shit' glance.

"A social faux pas, Potter, really, you're a professor now—"

"_Not_ the definition," Harry interrupted, glaring at the blond. "I'm not an idiot and –don't give me that look Malfoy!" Huffing, Harry ignored the continuous glare coming his way. "I meant what transgression?"

Malfoy looked even more stupefied from this. "It's the whole reason I got this job," Malfoy said slowly. "Do you not read the papers, Potter?"

"No," Harry admitted, giving a reluctant shrug to his shoulders. "When they tarnish your reputation so many ways you eventually tune out." He rubbed at the back of his head, mussing up his hair even more than usual. Malfoy still just stared.

"Merlin, without Granger constantly glued to your side I wonder how you survive. Keeping up in the Wizarding world is all about reading the papers, and keeping up with the gossip!" Malfoy seemed almost scandalized that Harry didn't know what was going on.

"Wouldn't it be better if nobody read the papers though?" Harry rationalized. "I mean, it would mean no tarnished reputations!" In his mind it made perfect sense. Dry up the gossip mill and no more would run free.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "As it is, that's not a practical mind set! Ugh." Malfoy pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not having this conversation, anyhow. If you don't know then I don't care to educate you."

"But you're a teacher now," was Harry's cheeky response. Malfoy gave him another 'eat shit' look, and turned his back on Harry. Groaning, Harry walked past Malfoy, aware that he had a detention to get to. He heard Malfoy, behind him, give a rather undignified snort.

-(-o-)-

He stared at the young man in front of him, face calm as he waited for the boy to crack.

Theodore Lupin sat in front of him, his hair a vibrantly pink Mohawk today, contrasting sharply with his dark skin. The boy had also lengthened out his pointed nose, and made his eyes a bit smaller. He'd also changed his stature, shrinking into a skinny frame, reducing all his muscle mass.

"You look ridiculous," Harry stated, unable to stand it anymore. Sure, he was no Dursley when it came to appearances, but he still had a limit. Especially now in his old age. Some of the things he caught students wearing nowadays was just plain ridiculous—and Teddy was no exception.

"I don't see the problem," the other boy responded, crossing his legs as he stretched out in Harry's office. The room itself was casual enough to allow this, Harry supposed. After all, he'd never been one for the high backed chairs and severe professor approach. Instead, his chairs were plump, made of red and gold fabric—his own house's color. There were posters of his favorite Quiditch teams plastered on the wall—one that he was particularly ashamed of feature Ginny Potter, gloriously red in the air as she caught a snitch. The rest of his office was decorated with odds and ends—his own Quiditch memorabilia, figurines, and books that pertained to different interests were stuffed into two tiny bookshelves at the corner.

His desk separated he and Teddy at the moment, which was blanketed in different students' scrolls. There were a few of Dumbledore's trinkets balancing on precarious corners as well, making it difficult to navigate the desk all around. Though, Harry had to say he was proud of his office, and loved seeing Hermione's face light up when she visited, and saw pictures of her family in the menagerie of things mixed in.

His students seemed more comfortable when speaking to him as well—he supposed it was more relatable than the other professors' offices. The calming effect it had was quite useful when Harry needed to truly speak to his students, or, in this particular case, his godson.

"You wouldn't, would you? The problem being that you are under-aged and attending a rather prestigious school for Witchcraft and Wizardry—or had you forgot?" Harry was staring blankly at Teddy, glasses sliding down his nose as he spoke. Tonk's ability had been passed onto her son, and while it had been wonderful at first, it was grating heavily upon Harry's nerves now.

Adolescence was apparently a bitch—and Harry could barely remember it.

"There's nothing wrong with me expressing myself!" Teddy argued, bending one knee as he stared pointedly at his elongated nails. "I mean, have you seen how that new boy Malfoy looks? H gets special treatment by starting in the middle of the year—can you believe it?"

Harry blinked, staring at his godson. "I'm sorry?" As far as Harry could remember, there were no students let in later in the year. McGonagall always made a grand statement about punctuality being incredibly important—and if a student or their parents could not muster up the fire in their soul to care about the first day—well then it was no longer Hogwarts' problem!

"Yeah," Teddy jumped on the subject, seeing that he had Harry readily distracted. "His name is Scorpion or something equally stupid." Teddy rolled his eyes. "He looks ridiculous! He's all decked out in muggle clothes, and keeps some weird looking cat around his shoulders. I keep seeing him walking around the corridors! Alicia Mantle—you know that Ravenclaw prefect—and he completely ignored her! Just walked away towards the library, happy as you please! None of the other prefects could account for him either, meaning he doesn't even have a house! They only found out his name because Alicia went to McGonagall!"

The pink haired boy looked utterly offended, and flailed a hand in the air. "I mean, how stupid, right? He looks super weird!"

Harry mumbled something, but didn't commit to any particular response. He mused over the implications. Malfoy had said something about a transgression, and that being his reason for even coming to Hogwarts. It was, all together, rather odd. And if he remember anything about Malfoy, it was his absolute abhorrence towards anything Muggle.

Malfoy's racist attitude, Harry thought, would have extended to his young son. Though seeing them both here was weird enough by itself. The Malfoy fortunes should have lasted the family for several generations—so why such a lowly position like a professor.

Harry doubted it was anything sentimental for memory of Snape.

Teddy blew a bubble from his gum, and watched Harry deep in contemplation. Something about that new kid had him interested, though what it was Teddy couldn't guess. Seeing as Harry seemed to be done pestering Teddy about his look—which was bound to change in a week _honestly_ why was Harry so upset—his mind relocated his thoughts to Quidditch.

Currently Teddy was a first year, but he was certain next year he could reasonably audition. During the summer, he and Harry often practiced flying Quidditch, and his Aunt Ginny often stopped by, delivering tips for him. With all the positive influences in his life, Teddy felt as if it would be a piece of cauldron cake to get himself accepted on the team.

Though what particular position, now that was the question!

He was disrupted from his thoughts by Harry tapping his fingers on the desk.

"I want your appearance different by the time you arrive in my class on Monday, do you understand?" Harry apparently hadn't forgotten as Teddy had initially hoped. Looking rather dejected, the boy gave a mopey nod, and rose from his spot on the couch.

He shambled towards the door, a hand locating the knob. His hurt expression maintained its place on his face, causing Harry to soften, just the slightest.

"Teddy," he said, causing the boy to turn around, "I rather like the look, over all. It reminds me very much of your mother… Perhaps you can bring it back when we go on break?"

Teddy stopped, an unfamiliar emotion swelling his chest. To be like his mother… "Yeah, maybe," he said, wiggling his fingers in an odd sort of wave. He exited the office, and calmly shut the door behind him. He muttered a quiet thanks he was too embarrassed to say to Harry's face, then made his way back to Gryffindor common room.

-(-o-)-

"Professor McGonagall?" Harry asked quietly, making his way into the Headmistress' office. The elderly woman looked up from her place at her desk, eyes training in on her colleague. He saw that she was busy perusing some scroll, and almost felt bad for interrupting her at such a time.

"Yes, Mr. Potter," she asked calmly, setting down the quill she had been using. He cleared his throat unsteadily.

"Well, it's just that, Teddy was telling me about Malfoy's son and—"

"Mr. Potter, it would do well for you to remember that you are now a peer of Mr. Malfoy's. As such please refer to him properly." McGonagall's voice was stern, causing Harry to immediately backtrack. It only killed his soul a fraction to do so.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy's son apparently has been wandering the corridors outside of dress code, and apparently none of the prefects have seen him around their common rooms. Teddy was expressing concern about this and I figured I'd ask you about it, and, well…" Harry's voice slowly died, as he saw the stern glare McGonagall was giving him. He gulped.

"Mr. Potter, I did not indulge in your unhealthy obsession with Mr. Malfoy's personal life when you were in school," she held up a hand at Harry's undignified squawk. "Mr. Potter, do not play dumb with me, I witnessed this for years. If I did not tolerate this back then, what would make you think I would play messenger to you now? As for what is happening to Mr. Malfoy, I assure you that the bare basics are in many tabloids, should catch your fancy that strongly. However I will not stoop so low as to delve out gossip to someone that I have employed and promised a safe work place.

"_Am I understood?_" McGonagall glared over her glasses, eyebrows contracting. Harry felt like he was eleven all over again, and was admittedly very ashamed. Ducking his head, he nodded that he understood.

"Of course, Headmistress," he said, dipping his head once more. "I understand. If you'll excuse me…"

"Good evening, Mr. Potter."

-(-o-)-

Theodore was sitting in the library, idly flipping the pages in a book. His perused the contents, squinting his eyes at each possibility. It was officially Sunday, and he now was left with one day to alter his appearance to meet Harry's demands. Part of him understood why his godfather was pressuring him to change his appearance, yet the other part of him wanted to show himself off—show his powers off.

That, and the assurance that he was similar to his mother—the one who he'd only seen in pictures—well that was just even more of a reason for him not to change. But he knew Harry was serious. It wasn't often that his godfather made direct demands, so he was willing to come through when Harry did.

Currently, he was looking at other wizards from the past, seeing if he could identify with any particular features that he liked. So far, nothing was exactly sticking out to him. It was times like this where he wished Hogwarts had some compilation of tabloids of some kind! He knew the wizarding world had them—more than just Witch Weekly—but the school carried nothing.

Sighing, he thumped his head down on the table, causing the ghost of Madam Pince to give him a sharp hiss of anger. Glaring pointedly at the specter, he flipped his middle finger at her when she turned away. He wished that old bag had never come back. But the moronic old woman had died beneath a collapsing pile of books, then merely pulled herself out of them, and went about her way.

Honestly, ghosts were really so boring! All of his muggle friends had these weird impressions about them, but they were just horrendous. Boring old farts that couldn't figure out what was happening in their life—so they decided to be completely confused in their unlife.

Looking up, he started a bit, noticing that the new kid Scorpius was sitting just a table away from him, some Muggle magazine clutched between his pasty fingers. Despite himself, Teddy scooted closer, rather interested in what he would see.

Scorpius saw him however, and his gray eyes immediately locked onto Teddy's form. Freezing, Teddy warily watched as Scorpius lowered the magazine slowly. The weird cat was missing, Teddy noticed, and so he didn't feel quite as daunted when he came even closer.

"I just want to pick a new look," Teddy explained, eying the pale boy.

Scorpius didn't say anything, merely nudged the magazine closer. Still nervous, Teddy picked up the magazine, leafing through as he went. As a nervous habit, he began talking.

"Well, you see, I don't really care about any of this stuff—if it were up to me I'd love to go all out, y'know? I like bright colors and weird noses, oddly shaped eyes, yeah? But apparently it's not appropriate, or whatever." Teddy rolled his eyes, more enraptured at talking about this then actually paying attention to his audience was. Scorpius stayed perfectly silent, however, though his eyes remained focused upon Teddy.

A few pages in, Teddy was unnerved by the reappearance of Scorpius' cat. It was a Sphynx cat, with large golden eyes that stared far too knowingly at Teddy for his liking. Though, staring at the cat, he rather liked the eye color and shape. Blinking, he focused his mind, and then clenched his eyes tight.

Upon reopening them, his eyes had taken on a rather slanted look, his eyes resembling that of the cat. Scorpius stared a little longer at him, completely unmoving as he did so.

"Now for the hair!" Teddy exclaimed, turning back to the magazine. "I'm sure my godfather wouldn't exactly appreciate any more shaved styles," he grumbled, which was really a shame as far as Teddy was concerned. He liked the way they looked when he made his face more angular, and his frame much taller. Sighing, he flipped a few more pages.

"I like this one…" he murmured, squinting at it. "What about it, Scorpius, you agree?" The kid was weird, that was for certain, but he allowed Teddy to talk aloud with no outspoken judgment. Stuffing the magazine back under Scorpius nose, he tapped the particular image he was referring to. Scorpius kept his mouth shut, but squinted his eyes up at Teddy. Apparently he was thinking rather steadily about it.

"Of course, bone structure is of no importance—I can always change that… Hm…" Teddy focused once more, willing his facial features to change. He strengthened his jaw bone, and reverted back to a more natural nose. He bulked up his body back up, and from what he could see, Scorpius was rather amazed with it all.

"And now for the hair style!" Theodore squinted his eyes again, willing his hair to grow and change. It shifted from pink to black, and extended into locs that spilled down to the middle of his back. From there he pulled a ponytail holder from his wrist—you could never be too safe with Teddy's powers—and tied his hair up. He smirked at Scorpius' face.

He popped a thumb up towards the other boy, and saw how the Sphynx's eyes watched him closely. The feline seemed far too interested for a normal companion, and Teddy was all together suspicious of the damn thing. Not that he could say too much about it. He didn't know how sensitive Scorpius was about his freaky cat—if the pale boy would even respond to his questioning.

Scorpius merely closed his magazine, and returned the small thumbs up gesture. Teddy was truly shocked, blinking his eyes rapidly as he gave the other boy a soft smile. But then Scorpius stood, and the cat lengthened its body out against the paler boy's small shoulders. It was obvious that he was leaving, and Teddy's didn't try to stop him.

"Have a good night, wherever the heck you sleep!"

Scorpius made a jerking motion with his fingers, that Teddy couldn't quite comprehend, and then the other boy was gone.

-(-o-)-

Harry watched his students file in, watching them all closely. This was his first year class, and, consequently, the one with Teddy in it. He nodded with approval at Teddy's choice of appearance, rather liking the way the gold eyes popped against Teddy's skin. Normally, Teddy went with darker colors for his eyes, so it was interesting for the boy to have chosen such a bright color.

With the Gryffindors for this lesson, he also had the Hufflepuffs, and he gave them all a broad grin. Today, for his first years, they would be discussing different spells to use when detecting dark magic. He began the lesson by simply discussing it, telling students what pages to refer to for different parts of the lesson.

A few flicks of his wand had made notes appear on the board behind him, outlining the different properties of each spell. When it came to the spells that had to deal with potions, however, Harry faltered. He didn't quite know how they could practically test that. Harry wasn't known for his proficiency in Potions, and he was certainly not willing to risk a students' life or well-being with his horrendous attempts.

Sighing, he wrapped up the lesson, saying that he would consider his options for the practicality dealing with potions aspect of it all. He watched the students filter out of the room, while Teddy remained. He watched his godson approach his desk, and gave him a rather wide smile.

"I like your new look," Harry greeted, before cocking his head to the side. "Now what can I help you with?"

"Well, why don't you ask the new Potions teacher for help with the practical efforts," he proffered. "I mean, I know that it will be on the exams, and you're bloody awful at Potions." Harry feigned hurt at Teddy's accusations. "But perhaps Professor Malfoy could help you with brewing the Potions you need."

Harry grimaced at the prospect. He'd told Teddy vaguely of the war, but did his best to leave out specifics and names. There was really no reason to have peoples' names dragged in the mud before Teddy ever even met them. He didn't want that type of poison to be in the young boy's brain. After all, people changed. But something about going up to Malfoy and asking him for help stabbed a bit at Harry's pride.

"Anyways, for my genius offer, you could always give me a reward," Teddy said, completely confident in his statement. The young boy studied his nails, eyes appraising Harry.

In turn, Harry arched an eyebrow. "What, you want a 100 on your next assignment? You know I can't do that."

Teddy rolled his eyes. "Trust me, you made it abundantly clear before I started Hogwarts that you'd run naked through the Great Hall before you ever faked a grade for me." Teddy pursed his lips, looking slightly discontent with the memory. "Mind you, that wasn't a particularly good memory for me. After all, isn't that the only benefit to you even being a professor?"

It was Harry's turn to roll his eyes.

"No, no, this has to do with you going to Professor Malfoy. I want to know what's up with his son Scorpius. The kid is weird. Doesn't talk, doesn't really do anything, and that freaky cat is always with him!" Teddy patted his fingers near his eyes for some reason that Harry couldn't discern, but he didn't mention it.

"I can't do that Teddy," Harry replied, rising from his chair. "I do thank you for the suggestion though. It was a rather good one." He noticed Teddy's nonplussed look. "Look, I can't go interrogating Malfoy about his weird son, okay?"

Teddy jerked an eyebrow up. "If you're so worried about acting professionally, I don't think you should go calling him Malfoy and labeling his son as weird."

Harry's face heated up at being corrected. He hastily snatched up some books and stuffed them in his rucksack. "I was merely repeating you, and well… I knew _Mr._ Malfoy back when I was in school. He was the son of a rather famous Death Eater, so we… interacted… quite a bit."

Teddy perked up at this information, before he fluttered his eyelids. "Wait… So like, Lucius Malfoy, right? That's who you're talking about! Wow!"

Teddy seemed rather ecstatic about his conclusion. Harry sighed, shaking his head.

"Well Malfoy isn't exactly a common name," Harry pointed out dryly, "I thought you just would've put it together on your own. Anyways, if you'll excuse me, I have some free time. Perhaps I can meet with _Mr. _Malfoy and discuss your rather brilliant plan." Harry scurried out of the room, and down the corridors.

Despite his hurry, he still maintained his duties as a professor, and caught several students doing rather distasteful things. Anything from fireworks to PDA had Harry, wand ready, administering detentions left and right. He heard several groans follow him as he preceded down the corridor, cloak swirling behind him.

Down to the dungeons, he felt the familiar chill seep into his skin. Memories of his teenage years came spilling back to him. Some were pleasant, some not quite as much. He still remembered Snape barreling up and down these halls, and just in general being a giant pain in the arse. But he also remembered Hermione and Ron forging beautiful memories with him as he progressed and grew…

Smiling, he entered the Potions classroom, noticing the empty room. He hoped Malfoy was in his office, and continued on, bypassing all the lab tables and haphazardly placed cauldrons. Remembering all the pranks, illegal activities, and just general shenanigans that happened around this area made Harry a little more sympathetic towards Malfoy. Who knew what this new crop of students would do.

He finally reached the office door, and gave it a rather sharp knock. Luckily enough, Malfoy was actually in, and promptly opened the door for him. Malfoy's face went from welcoming to guarded in a matter of seconds though, as he recognized who his visitor was.

"Potter." Such a simple greeting, and while it wasn't downright angry, it also wasn't encouraging. Harry resisted the urge of grumbling obscenities at his colleague, and settled for entering the office. It was completely opposite of Harry's own.

In the three days that Malfoy had been at Hogwarts, he had already let his Slytherin charm bleed into every corner of the room. There were high backed chairs made of steel, with snakes where bars would be, and green fabric lay over each seat. Wizarding artifacts were placed upon the only wall that was visible, along with Slytherin banners. The other three walls were covered completely with bookcases holding God knows what. Even the desk showed how meticulous Malfoy was, a polished black monstrosity that was completely and utterly organized. There were a few bubbling vials, and a cauldron stuffed in the back, but otherwise the decorations were minimal.

Harry did notice, however, the young boy standing beside the cauldron, lit eerily by the green light coming from the contents. His hair was just as pale as Malfoy's, his skin even more like paper. He had dark circles rimming each eye, which made the pale color of them even more obvious. A Sphynx cat was draped across the boy's shoulders, golden eyes watching Harry with just a bit too much intensity.

Malfoy bypassed him, and seated himself behind the desk. Harry opted to continue standing, trying not to watch young Scorpius too closely. Harry knew his old prejudices should have died, that realistically there was no way Malfoy was still the murderous thing he had been once upon a time. He also knew there was no reason to suspect a child that probably knew nothing of the war but the same tidbits all of the younger children knew.

He just couldn't let it die, though, not yet.

"Now, Potter, how may I help you?" Malfoy cut into Harry's thoughts, and the shrewd look on the other man's face almost made Harry guilty for his thoughts, as if Malfoy had been reading them. Coughing, Harry shuffled his feet, and prepared to completely embarrass himself.

"Well, I would like my students to be able to cast a various amount of detector spells on different types of objects. So far we have covered common objects—but there is still the problem of liquids. As we all know, some potions are simply not benign, especially if the giver is unknown or if they happen to be held under a curse themselves."

Harry sucked in a deep breath.

"And well I'm rather horrid at potions, so it was suggested that I could possibly ask you for assistance." He quirked an eyebrow up at that last bit, hoping to appear non-threatening. He wanted to hide as much of his negative thoughts as he could.

Malfoy said nothing for a moment, and merely watched Harry in a calculating fashion. "What potions would you need?"

Harry blinked, astonished that Malfoy was actually giving it serious thought. "W-Well," he stammered out, "I was thinking of doing simples ones, ones to do with health, or perhaps any that a young wizard could come into contact with on a daily-basis."

"Wouldn't health potions be more of Madam Bones' cup of tea," Malfoy questioned, and Harry attempted not to flush at his own stupidity. Susan really should have been his first go to, but once Teddy had suggested Malfoy, he'd immediately leaped on the prospect.

"Yes… Yes I suppose she would. However, I would also like to contest that with the fact that some of the potions I'd like to test the children with would not be strictly for health purposes. I'd also like to test Polyjuice potion, anything that would change appearances, and of course Veritaserum."

Malfoy drummed his fingers on the desk. "Let me guess, still harboring negative opinions on the Ministry?"

Harry jerked slightly, and looked questioningly at Malfoy.

"They're the most likely to use it on students. The ingredients and general brewing are all together not the easiest thing to deal with." He shrugged. "But very well Potter. Inform your students that you can hold your little lesson plan soon. As you know, Polyjuice will take a little over a month for me to prepare." Malfoy's gaze hardened slightly. No doubt he'd eventually found out about the trio using it to infiltrate Slytherin in the many interviews that had been published after the war.

"Ah, yeah…" Harry scratched the back of his head, eyes traveling to Scorpius, who still had his face turned towards the potion bubbling in the cauldron. He wondered if it was safe for Scorpius to be so close to whatever his father was concocting in there, but didn't speak up.

"Actually, this will be good practice for Scorpius," Malfoy stated suddenly, eyes fastening on his son. "You see, he's rather adept at potions."

"Just like his father, then," Harry replied, amicably enough. Then, seizing his chance, "Speaking of, did his manage to get into Slytherin like you?" Malfoy said nothing for a moment, and Harry felt uncomfortable in the silence that followed.

"Scorpius… Scorpius is not here as a student." Malfoy's voice was slightly hushed, and Harry saw the younger boy's eyes flicker upwards for just a moment. Furrowing his brow in confusion, Harry decided not to pry any further.

"Anyways, I could make up a list for you, if you'd like," Harry continued, trying to push back all the questions he held at bay. "Of a few potions I'd be using. There are a few I could probably make, with some assistance, just to ease the work load."

Malfoy's lips thinned out, before he gave a grave nod. "That will do, Potter… I'll have two consecutive classes tomorrow—will you be free?"

Harry thought for a moment, brow furrowing. "Yes, that should be just fine." In fact he had Slytherin and Ravenclaw for double D.A.D.A., which would be a simple rehashing of what he'd told his class today. Now, he would have definitive plans, as well, and the class could move on to studying some of the lower class creatures.

"I will see you tomorrow then, Potter," Malfoy said with finality, and Harry noticed that he was being effectively shut out. He gathered himself quite well, however, and bowed his way through the door. He still felt uneasy, however, with the lingering sight of Scorpius and his cat arched over the bubbling potion. The fact that the boy wasn't a student was news to him, though, and he found himself heading to the Owlery.

He pulled a spare piece of parchment out of his bag, and scribbled a quick note to Hermione. With the death of Hedwig, he'd never been able to replace his owl. Now, he just used whichever was available to him. His feelings towards all these owls were rather detached, and he simply tied the note to an extended leg, and promptly went to bed.

-(-o-)-

Teddy was walking down the corridors, Roxanne Weasely rolling along beside him. Her wheelchair rolled a steady rhythm beside him, and it was rather comforting to say the least. As she churned her arms, they continued their conversation.

"I'm just saying, Aunt Ginny wasn't flying at her best the other day—did you see her?" Teddy demanded, looking rather outraged despite it not being his favorite team. Roxanne gave a soft laugh, and rolled her eyes.

"Well, perhaps she wasn't feeling well? Had a stomach flu or something?" Roxanne knew exactly why Ginny hadn't been flying well, but the prospect of explaining to an eleven year old boy about how exactly periods worked and why wasn't a thrilling prospect to her.

"That's not excuse if you're going to fly professionally!" Teddy scoffed, waving a dismissive hand towards his adoptive cousin. The Weasely merely rolled her eyes, before they reached the stairs. Once there, she smirked at Teddy.

"You ready?" she demanded, watching as his face lit up.

"Of course, dearest cousin!" Teddy's smile was a mile wide.

"_Apparent clivo_!" Roxanne commanded, and immediately stairs folded in upon themselves, giving way to a smooth ramp. Down below, she heard other students giving small yelps of surprise as they were suddenly transported at a much faster rate down the stairs. With a jerk of her arms, soon she was flying down the ramp, feeling the wind in her hair.

Angling her chair different ways, she averted other students, who looked at her wheels in terror as they snapped their hands into their bodies. She heard Teddy behind her, whooping in joy and colliding purposely with the people Roxanne had gone around. Rolling her eyes at Teddy's antics, she screeched to a stop at the bottom, watching as other students groaned and rose to their unsteady feet.

That spell was a trick the Headmistress had shown her, and any other student that needed to know it. After all, stairs weren't very practical for her wheelchair, or for others. She had seen a few students who were blind use it as well, tapping their canes until they found the stairs. It was a safe glide to the bottom, if one was prepared.

Teddy arrived soon, quickly rising to his feet and dusting off his robes. He pumped a fist into the air, before plopping his arm across Roxanne's shoulders. "Man, have I told you how much I love it when you do that!"

"Every time, dear cousin," she replied, a quick eye roll following. Lifting up her hands, she brushed off Teddy, and set about fixing her dark curls. With a quick wave of her wand, they were back to their original pigtails, each curl held tightly in place. Her mother, Angelina, had taught her that nifty trick, after she'd teased Roxanne that she would be the first Weasely to not be a pasty red head.

_"__Good genes finally made it in here,"_ her mother whispered, while her father pretended to be horribly offended.

Smiling, Roxanne finally returned her attention to Teddy, who was nudging Roxanne. "So, you've seen the new kid, right?" he asked, causing Roxanne to give him a rather bemused look.

"No, I don't think I have." She cocked her head to the side. "Why, what house is he in?"

"Dunno," Teddy replied, shrugging. "None of the prefects recognize him! He doesn't talk! I ran into him in the library—held a whole conversation with him, all by myself." Teddy pouted slightly. "I've never met a person who didn't want to talk to me."

Sighing dramatically, Teddy tossed a hand over his forehead, and sagged against Roxanne. The girl squealed, and shoved at him playfully. "Oh get off, you melodramatic queen!"

"But your highness is deeply offended!" Teddy's voice thrummed, wallowing in his false self-pity. Roxanne was in fits of laughter by the time he'd reached the floor and was rolling across the tile. She rolled her chair backwards just a bit, so she could lean forward, and poke him in the stomach.

"Get off the floor before a professor catches you," she admonished. They both started, however, once a throat cleared behind them. Both children turned, slowly, to look at the newcomer to their party.

"Indeed." Professor Malfoy was there now, staring at the two companions. His eyes lingered momentarily on Teddy, but then flickered to Roxanne. "I would ask you to refrain from such frivolous activities." The pale man cleared his throat, and Roxanne fiddled with the axles on her wheels.

"Sorry, professor," Teddy said, rising off the floor. Professor Malfoy continued to watch the students as they began wandering down the corridor. Roxanne gave a brief shudder as soon as they were out of eye sight.

"He's rather scary, isn't he?" she muttered, pushing herself forward.

"I dunno," Teddy replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I guess he can't be all that bad for McGonagall to have hired him, yeah?" Roxanne mumbled something that was neither approval, nor disapproval. Teddy decided not to press it.

"There's a party in the common room tonight, I heard," Roxanne said suddenly, and Teddy's face was beaming once more. "No one told you because of how horrendous you get about sniffing out all the butterbeer."

Teddy looked offended. "I've been here half a year," he replied, with a sharp sniff, "I can't already have such an awful reputation!"

"Oh believe me," Roxanne smirked, "you can, and do." Teddy continued to babble on about the atrocities that had certainly been inflicted up on him, and Roxanne just laughed.

-(-o-)-

Once Harry's classes were done, he jotted down a list of potions, and readied himself to go meet Malfoy. He was packing up his bag, just as a student burst into his classroom. Looking up, Harry saw Teddy making his way through the classroom, looking as if he wanted to discuss something.

"Teddy, whatever it is, can you make it quick? I'm meeting Ma—_Professor_ Malfoy in just a moment." Harry continued packing his bag, before righting himself, the strap nestling uncomfortably on his shoulder.

Teddy had an odd look on his face, though. "Can I come with you?"

Harry blinked for a moment, rather confused by the question. "What?"

"Can I come with you?" the boy asked again, looking rather intrigued. "I'm actually rather good at potions, you know." Harry took one look at Teddy, before giving a rather defeated sigh.

"I don't see any harm in it, I suppose…" Grumbling, Harry hitched up his bag, and hurried towards the door. "But do come along. I'd rather not keep your… Professor waiting, all right?" Teddy happily obliged, following his godfather. Harry was once again stopped, however, by Roxanne's wheelchair in his door, with the girl in it staring up at him.

"Hello, Professor Uncle Potter," she smirked, cocking her head to the side.

"Hello, Roxanne," Harry greeted, rather confused why she was there. But then, he figured, Roxanne was one of Teddy's best friends. It stood to reason that if he was up here, then Roxanne was sure to follow. Sighing, he looked down at her. "I'm sorry I can't stay and chat, I'm going to meet Ma—Professor Malfoy for a combined lesson plan."

Roxanne looked intrigued, before casting her gaze to Teddy. He was standing behind his godfather, and thus motioned rapidly to her, which she quickly picked up on. A pouting look came across her features, and she stared dolefully up at her professor.

"Is Teddy going with you?" she asked sweetly enough, trying not to laugh at Teddy's voracious grin. Harry seemed stunned for a moment, but quickly affirmed what she already knew. "Well, could I come along too?"

Harry seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, before muttering a weak, "Well…"

"I'm really good at potions professor," Roxanne assured, smiling up at him. "I'm far better than Teddy—he copies off of me sometimes." Teddy grimaced when she said that, as now Harry's glare was fully upon him.

"Ignoring that," Harry fought down, before finally fracturing under Roxanne's gaze. "Fine. Fine, fine, fine! You can come!" He threw his hands in the air, and hustled forward down the hall. For one fleeting moment, he spared a soft smile where the children couldn't see. After all, he had just witnessed and exchange that reminded him terribly of his own Hogwarts adventures. Roxanne was undoubtedly Hermione, being such a good student had people wrapped around her little finger. And well—Teddy was rather like Ron, in a way. Just with a wee bit more confidence.

Harry found it exasperating, really, and now he knew why some of their professors would share a small groan when the Golden Trio would come knocking on their doors, next escapade already in motion. It was amazing how much they'd gotten away with, really, and it wouldn't surprise him if somehow Teddy and Roxanne ended up doing similar things.

He could hear the two talking happily behind him, and heard the reassuring strokes of Roxanne's wheels against the floor. How these children conned him into taking them to the Snake Pit, he'd never know. If Malfoy would even let them stay—well that was another topic all together. At least then Harry wouldn't have to feel guilty about sending the children away—it would all be Malfoy's problem.

When they reached the dungeon, the trio stood outside of the potions class room, and Harry had a suspicious feeling that he was more nervous than his two companions. Roxanne was idly playing with some necklace roped around her, and Teddy was whistling some tune.

Harry knocked on the closed door, and was instantly greeted by Malfoy. The other professor paused for just a moment, taking in the situation. Harry had just a small, sheepish grin to share, as if that were a form of apology that was somehow acceptable.

"Potter, you are aware that those students are behind you?" Malfoy queried, finally leveling his gaze with Harry's.

"Ha, yeah," was Harry's response, shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry about that, I guess. They both promised they're good at potions." He did give a pointed glare to Teddy, who promptly looked away.

Malfoy made a small noise at the back of his throat, before stepping to the side, allowing the group to enter. His gaze lingered on Roxanne and Teddy, who gave him a cheeky smile.

"We've been behaving, Professor," Roxanne stated, rolling herself to one of the cauldrons. She promptly lit a fire underneath it, apparently claiming it for her own.

"No frivolous activities," Teddy promised with a wink, and soon took up occupancy on a stool at Roxanne's table. Harry watched this exchange, before turning to Malfoy.

"Do I want to know?" he asked, to which Malfoy merely sneered.

"No, I'm sure you don't," was the response, before Malfoy extended a hand. Harry stared at it, confused, before grasping it in a firm handshake. He felt as if it was a little late for all this extended courtesy, but as it stood, he couldn't not shake Malfoy's hand!

Malfoy merely stared at him, their hands still interlinked.

"That hand was for the list of potions," Malfoy said slowly, causing Harry's face to heat up.

"Oh—" Harry's voice jerked, and he quickly retracted his hand. He began digging nervously in his bag. Teddy and Roxanne were both snickering softly behind their hands, and Harry shot both of them a glare. It didn't silence them, however, and only fueled their laughter.

"Potter, still as irrational as ever," Malfoy drawled, taking the list of potions from Harry. The darker man transferred his glare from the children to his ex-nemesis. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get the ingredients."

Malfoy disappeared with a swirl of his cloak, and Harry had to wonder if he'd gotten that trick from Snape. Such a hideous man—it was hard to believe that he had been Malfoy's idol. Shaking his head, Harry seated himself at a table, feeling like a child all over again. Teddy and Roxanne, however, seemed quite at easy, and were amicably talking about what kinds of potions they would be making.

Harry told them the ones they'd be in charge of—a simple bruise healing potion, and possibly a few others dealing with stomach pains, and even one that gave limited flight—basic potions that were all covered early on in potions. The two were, after all, still in their first year. Harry knew these would be ones they had already covered, so it would be safe for the two to go all out.

Soon Malfoy returned, his arms laden with several jars and other items. Behind him, Scorpius also had his hands full, and the Sphynx was nowhere to be seen. The pale boy merely wandered to a table at the back of the room, and seated himself. Everything in his arms spilled to the table he'd be working at, and he stared forward to where his father was working.

Teddy and Roxanne were both staring at Scorpius, curiosities obviously piqued. Roxanne muttered something, and they both looked as if they wanted to move closer to Scorpius. They remained seated, however, and just settled for sly glances over their shoulders. Or, no so shy glances, Harry would hate to inform them.

"Now, Potter, I will have you working on a potion that many people use to obtain night vision. It has components that are very similar to love potions and other such things. Each potion that I assign will have similar consistencies as other common potions. This way whatever varying spells you have planned, Potter, can be tested with different ingredients.

"So here are your instructions, Potter, along with your ingredients—well come on you fool, light your cauldron already," Harry glared at him, "and you two will be doing that tissue healing potion that we covered Monday." He deposited the ingredients, before using _accio_ on a nearby book. "Your instructions are on page 322." With that, he swept back to where Scorpius was.

Despite himself, Harry turned around, watching as Malfoy muttered something, to which Scorpius made a few hand gestures. It was then that Malfoy waved his wand, lighting the fire beneath his cauldron. Malfoy waved his wand for yet another book, and gave it to his son. Scorpius diligently opened it, before making even more hand gestures.

And that's when it hit Harry. Quickly, he turned back around, before he was caught staring. Harry began working on his potion, taking his time, and trying not to imagine Hermione next to him, hissing instructions. He tried to recall the confidence he had held when he had the Prince's book (he refused to acknowledge that Snape had ever been the Prince, the thought was too abhorrent) and set to work.

Malfoy was soon at the cauldron in front of the room, steadily working on what—Harry couldn't tell. Despite his contributions to the Polyjuice potion, Harry couldn't remember anything but hazy details dealing with hair—or in Hermione's case fur—and that was that. So it could've been Polyjuice, Veritaserum, or any a number of things that he and the children simply weren't adept enough to do.

Roxanne and Teddy were apparently letting their potion simmer, though, as they made their way back to Scorpius. Roxanne stopped her wheels as soon as they reached the other boy, who paused to look up from his work. Scorpius cocked his head to the side, watching the two children before him.

"What're you working on?" Teddy asked, and when Scorpius didn't answer, he leaned over and read the book popped open on the table beside him. "Oh, cool, a flying potion!" Teddy was soon grinning, and even Roxanne looked delighted at the prospect.

"Well, Professor said we might get that one," she reminded, but she still seemed in awe. "It's actually not even that complicated," she mused, looking at the pages. Scorpius nodded at her phrase, and she gave him a quick smile.

"You interested in flying?" Teddy asked Scorpius, who quickly shook his head. All in all, Teddy found that rather odd. He knew his aunt Hermione wasn't very fond of heights or flying, but then again, she was born a muggle, so who knew what they did.

"I like to fly," Roxanne supplied. "It's bloody good fun!" Teddy nodded enthusiastically, to which Scorpius merely looked confused. Apparently he didn't share their opinions. Roxanne wasn't discouraged. "Think it runs in the blood, though. My mother's a good flyer! She used to play for the Holyhead Harpies—with my aunt Ginny."

Scorpius look mystified, and shrugged his shoulders. He did something with his hands, that neither Teddy nor Roxanne caught. Scorpius went back to stirring and adding ingredients, however, allowing Teddy and Roxanne to continue talking. He stopped, however, after a moment, and glared at the pages. Teddy blinked in surprise, watching as the boy nervously waved a hand, trying to get his father's attention, the two presumed.

Their professor was completely immersed, though, in his potion, as was Harry. Professor Malfoy's seemed to be a labor of passion, sweat dripping off of his pointed nose, and his brow crinkled up just so. Harry's was simply from hard work. His figure was hunched, constantly running his finger across the pages in the book, and double checking everything he did, just to turn around and triple check once more.

Roxanne sighed, and looked to Scorpius. "What's the matter?" she asked, watching as the boy's face grew frustrated. He waved his hands for a moment, causing Roxanne and Teddy to blink in confusion. Scorpius mimed a sigh with no sound, before pointing to a line in the book.

Bending towards the table, Roxanne looked closely at the pages. "_Point your wand and cast _exponentia fugae _three times_." She paused, looking curiously at Scorpius. "Do you not have your wand?" she asked, and Teddy cocked his head to the side.

Scorpius pressed his lips tight, and nodded. Teddy laughed. "Why didn't you just say so, buddy," he clapped a hand against the paler boy's shoulder, causing Scorpius to jerk forward in an undignified motion. Roxanne, meanwhile, withdrew her wand, waving it as she chanted the spell. The color morphed from a dark green, to a sky blue.

When she was done, she pocketed her wand once more, giving Scorpius a soft smile. The other boy didn't look grateful, however, he merely looked frightened. Teddy looked just as confused as she was, and the two stared in confusion at Scorpius. Soon a pale hand reached out and tapped her shoulder, motioning for her to turn around.

Glancing over her shoulder, just as Teddy turned around, they both yelped, and rocketed towards their cauldron. They were supposed to let it simmer, and instead, the two had let it boil. Frantic, Teddy muttered something under his breath, and smacked his wand against the cauldron.

Roxanne attempted to douse the water beneath the cauldron, where the fire was lit. As soon as she readied her wand, however, there was a rather large BOOM! She quickly wheeled herself backwards, just to be rewarded with the sight of their potion upending onto the floor, and Teddy covered in whatever mess of the potion had exploded outwards. He was covered in the stuff, standing there miserably.

Both Malfoy and Harry immediately were on their feet, rushing to the children. Harry set about making sure there was no serious injuries, while Malfoy was immediately cleaning up the mess, and righting the cauldron.

Once it was clean enough, Malfoy turned to Teddy, who was now whimpering and clutching at his arms. With a deft flick of his want, Malfoy cleaned up the mess clinging to Teddy's body. Underneath were massive, discolored bruises, and even Malfoy winced at the awful sight.

To his credit, Teddy didn't cry, and Harry was rather proud of his godson for that. He grasped Roxanne though, and asked her if any potion had gotten on her. Once he was certain she was safe, he saw Malfoy bundling Teddy out of the room. For one panicky moment, Harry was thinking of Mad-Eye Mood the imposter dragging him from the Triwizard tournament.

He shot forward, without thinking, and grasped Malfoy's elbow. "I-I'll take him," Harry offered, watching Malfoy's shuttered face. Malfoy quickly released Teddy, and gave a short nod.

"Yes, of course. Please hurry. I'm sure those bruises aren't comfortable." Malfoy's sentences were short and clipped, but they drew a confirmative groan out of Teddy. Harry nodded shortly, and again set of walking, leaving Malfoy alone with Scorpius and Roxanne.

Roxanne had been startled at first, but soon calmed herself down. Instead, she meandered back to where Scorpius was. She could feel Malfoy's eyes on her, though, and had the distinct feeling she was making him nervous.

She watched Scorpius work, before she flicked her hands up, and motioned something to Scorpius. He paused in his work, and turned to fully face her. Slender fingers moved through the air, but Roxanne was lost.

"Sorry," she said, "I only know a few letters."

Scorpius shrugged, and turned back to his potions. Malfoy's gaze was boring into her more than ever.

"Teddy's a dunce, and hasn't figured it out yet," Roxanne stated, rolling her eyes. "When I tell him, I bet he won't even believe it. However, I think I have a solution to it all." She smiled, watching as Scorpius once again turned his attention on her.

Malfoy's attention was there as well. Which was good in her opinion, as this involved him.

"I want to learn sign language," she admitted, catching her professor's eye. "If you wouldn't mind, Professor Malfoy, would you be willing to assist? You obviously know it very well—and Scorpius, I'd like to learn some from you as well." She looked to the other boy. The last thing she wanted was to be pushy, but she also didn't want to back down from this.

Professor Malfoy's eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head. "I suppose I'd be getting Theodore in this deal as well," he reasoned. Roxanne smiled, giving a broad smile. That sounded suspiciously like a yes. "If Scorpius feels comfortable with it, then I will oblige."

Scorpius sat still for just a moment, and Roxanne tried to give him an encouraging smile. If he said no, she certainly wouldn't push it. He lifted his hand, and Roxane bit the urge to suck in a deep breath. His hand balled into a little fist, and he knocked on the air.

"That's a yes," Malfoy said suddenly. "Your first lesson. I'll be right back." Malfoy disappeared into his office, and soon returned with a rather thick book. He promptly deposited it into Roxanne's lap, which thudded against her legs.

She stared at the title, and opened a few pages.

"While we will definitely have personal meetings, I would also suggest you and your partner in crime thoroughly read this. It can teach you a lot—though not as much as practice can. After all, your major focus isn't to be able to sign, but to read the signs." He arched an eyebrow at Roxanne. "Young lady I hope you are prepared for this. Are your midterms not coming up rather soon?"

Roxanne shrugged. "I think I'll do fine, I get good enough scores. Teddy I'll have to drag along, but it'll be fine." She rolled her eyes affectionately at the mention of her cousin. Malfoy made a soft humming noise, and turned towards his son.

"And you are certain this acceptable for you?" Malfoy was still sounding hesitant. Roxanne figured it was too late to turn back now! He'd already given her a book, and everything! Scorpius seemed to agree, as he gave another sharp knock.

Malfoy actually smiled.

"Now, how about we just schedule it after Potions lessons," Malfoy prompted, to which Roxanne readily agreed. "If something otherwise fills my schedule, I shall let you know. Now, I suggest you return to your common room. It is getting rather late, and I still have some potions to make for you rather ridiculous professor. Good day."

Roxanne said her good-byes, waving to Scorpius and Malfoy as she exited the door. She took her time returning to the common room, rolling her way to the Fat Lady.

"Pixie Wings," Roxanne stated, to which the Fat Lady swung open, and a small ramp rolled out. Making her way up the ramp, Roxanne entered the common room. Most of the students were back up in their dormitories, but there were a few stragglers. Quickly taking up a position by the fire, Roxanne opened up the text book Malfoy had given her. Clumsily, she practiced several of the signs, watching as those around her gave her open stares. She must've looked rather odd, she thought, but found herself not caring.

It was at least another hour before Teddy returned. Madam Bones had gotten rid of a large portion of the bruises, while some still remained. He was looking healed up enough, however, and had a large vial of some sort of salve jutting out of his pocket. As soon as he caught sight of Roxanne, he made his way towards her, looking pointedly at the book in her lap.

"You _nerd_," he grumbled, flopping down in a chair beside her. "I mean, you'd almost think you were Aunt Hermione's kid!"

Roxanne scoffed at that. "My mother is quite smart on her own, thank-you. She was rather brilliant—I read a few of her old scrolls. And she reads books just as thick, now that she's retired her broom." Knowing that Roxanne would continue to berate him with facts about her family, Teddy quickly cut her off.

"All right, all right, sorry!" He acquiesced, though Roxanne still shot him a rather dirty look. "What titillating story are you reading tonight anyways?" This was followed swiftly by a yawn, water escaping out of the corners.

Roxanne perked up at that, and immediately launched into her story of what had happened once Teddy and Harry had left. Teddy listened, enraptured by her words, a new light coming to his eyes. Once she had finished, Teddy promptly smacked a palm to his face.

"I can't believe I didn't notice it!" he complained, sparing a small side glance to those that were slowly filtering up the stairs. It was rather late, but they still had talking to do. He rubbed at his eyes, and focused on Roxanne again.

"It was rather obvious, too," Roxanne sighed. "I should've picked up on it earlier. Of course, now that we know Scorpius is mute, we can begin learning sign language! He looks so lonely, after all, and it must get boring to only have his dad to talk to."

"Especially when your dad is like that," Teddy rolled his eyes.

"Teddy, we've only had a class with him," she admonished.

"Well it was a block class, and then we had this extracurricular thing going on—I mean, no offense, but the guy seems totally buttoned up and boring. That's no company for an eleven year old _man. _He needs other men around him, to teach him about stuff." Teddy thumped his chest.

Roxanne glared at him. "No, he needs companionship. Regardless of his father's personality, I can assure you if I was only ever allowed to talk to my dad I'd go crazy. Anyways," she forged on, "Professor Malfoy's willingness to teach us is a good sign. He can't be the only one that knows sign language, anyhow!"

Teddy shrugged, and leaned forward, clasping his hands. "From what I've seen, mute people are usually squibs, so most wizarding people don't really… Know sign language."

Roxanne looked rather offended. "So, wizards just find out their child can't talk and then—oops you're a squib!" Her voice had rose a fraction, and Teddy thanked the stars that their peers had already gone to bed.

"I mean, the wizarding world isn't known for its tolerance, okay?" Teddy sighed, and took the book from Roxanne, flipping through a few pages. "Not that I agree with them, mind. Our laws can be stupid about a lot of things."

"Yes, I'm sure," Roxanne muttered. She'd been raised a witch, but her mother had been muggleborn, while George's side of the family was rather obsessed with muggle things. It had transferred to George, just a tiny bit, for he opened up a shop in a muggle town. He had to be incredibly careful about the items he sold—he had Roxanne's grandfather, Arthur, check everything that he put out for the muggle's to buy.

So for a good portion of her life, Roxanne was heavily influenced by the muggle world. Her mother had even had her go to a muggle school for a good bit of her life, instilling some of those values in her. Not to mention, her father wasn't exactly a closed-minded man, couldn't afford to be. The minute you shuttered people out, that was the minute you lost business.

Teddy, on the other hand, lived with Harry and traveled with his godfather. When Harry was an Auror, he often read over case files, and visited other wizarding households and locations. Whenever he would visit Roxanne when they were younger, he would bring stories full of magic, and she would bring stories of her muggle adventures.

It was a fair trade, and it wasn't until moments like this that Roxanne's ignorance of the magical world showed.

Still irate, she snatched the book back from Teddy, and gave him a look. "So are you going to do it or not?"

Teddy stared at her, bewildered. "Are you crazy?" he demanded, rising from his seat. He actually looked angry for once, and Roxanne wheeled back a bit. She held his gaze strongly, however, and when he spoke again, it was only a relief. "Of course I'm going to do it!"

Roxanne smiled, and accepted the hug that soon came her way.

"Well then, tomorrow we'll get to cracking on this book, all right?" Roxanne said as she rolled towards the girls' dormitories.

"You got it," Teddy promised, popping her a thumbs up, as he headed to his own bead, ready to pass out.

**So, I've never written Harry Potter fics before, so please let me know how it is by reviewing. **

**Thank-you**


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